Half Blood High School
by blondebabe11
Summary: Annabeth is a nobody who has to tutor the all too perfect, Percy Jackson. What will happen when she finds out some of his secrets, and she discovers who he really is? Will sparks fly?
1. Chapter 1

Annabeth climbed off the big, yellow school bus. She wore a plain orange tee shirt, that hugged her hips, and a pair of jean shorts. Her uncontrollable honey blonde curls were thrown up in a relaxed ponytail, with some pieces falling down, framing her face. She wore no make-up, and she liked it that way.

She walked on the green, past the sign that read "Half Blood High; home of the fighting Warriors". The sun was rising, and Annabeth rubbed her grey eyes, trying to wake up. Her phone buzzed.

She pulled it out, and saw that she had a text message.

PIPER: Where are you?

ANNABETH: On the green. I'll meet you at my locker.

PIPER: See you there

Annabeth put her phone back in her pocket, and walked up the steps and through the grand doors. She kept her head down, and pushed through the crowds of drama kids, goth kids, and worst of all; jocks. **(A/N: I myself am a jock, so no offense to any jocks. We rule)**

As the jocks pushed each other around, all in their designated uniforms, Annabeth trudged to her locker. 5 more feet...

The football players pushed each other around, shouting about a game that was going to happen tonight, when a big red haired boy shoved a tall, muscular blonde haired boy, with a long white scar down his face. The boy tripped into Annabeth, who let out a yelp and fell to the ground.

"Sorry...um...Blondie?" he said, barely looking at Annabeth. He stood up, and ran back over to his team, which had decided to move on to the lobby.

"Don't worry, Luke. I'm not hurt. And my name is Annabeth. We have had multiple classes together since pre-k," Annabeth mumbled to herself, standing up and brushing off her legs. Luke Castellan. How to describe him? Star quarterback, tall, blonde, handsome, rich. Incredibly rude, self-centered, stupid. Luke and Annabeth used to be great friends, in elementary school, but then they drifted and Luke can't even remember her name.

Annabeth reached her locker, and dialed in her combo. 9-16-27. she shook the lock, but it didn't open. She tried again, and still nothing. She hit her locker right above the lock, and tried one more time. It finally opened. It was always the same routine.

She grabbed the textbooks she needed; Algebra II, Chemistry, and Greek. She put the thick, heavy books in her backpack, and shut her locker. She shouldered her bag, and groaned. One day her back was going to break, the weight of these books was almost unbearable.

"Hey, Annie!" called a voice, full of electric energy. Turning to the end of the hallway, she saw one of her two only friends. Thalia was strolling to her, her blue eyes sparking. She outlined her eyes in heavy black eyeliner that matched her short, spiky black hair. She wore her favorite combat boots and a pair of ripped up black jeans. She had silver bangles up her arms, and they jingled as she walked. Her Metallica shirt glimmered silver, and she smiled.

"What's going on, Annie?" she asked, leaning against the locker right of Annabeths.

"One, don't call me Annie, and two, nothing much. Got trampled by Luke like 5 minutes ago. Nothing new. Have you seen Pipes?"

"I heard my name! Hello ladies!" sang a voice that was as sweet as candy. Piper appeared next to Annabeth and leaned on the locker left to hers. Piper was THE most beautiful girl in the school, but she hated that fact. She wore simple jeans and a ski jacket most of the time, and when she didn't she wore plain, hand-me-down clothes. Like Annabeth, she never wore makeup, but her strong, native-American cheekbones and kaleidoscope eyes didn't need it. Piper had chocolate brown hair, and she cut it herself in choppy layers, braiding small sections of it on the sides.

"Hey Pipes, ready for math?" Annabeth asked, smiling as Piper groaned.

"I'm pretty sure you are the only person that is passing that course!" Piper whined, and Annabeth slammed her locker shut.

"I'm not the only one, P" Annabeth said, and Thalia laughed,

"Annabeth, darling, yes you are," she said, smiling a toothy smile.

"You aren't even in our class! You have a different teacher, too!" Annabeth pointed out, and Thalia rolled her eyes, dramatically.

"Missing the point!" Thalia said, as a group of girls ran down the hallway, planting themselves in front of the locker across from Annabeths. Typical Friday.

"What are you doing, Rachel?" Thalia groaned, and tapped her knuckles against the locker she was leaning on.

A girl with impossibly tight jeggings with paint splattered on the legs and a green tube top whipped around, and sneered at the girls.

She twirled a piece of her unnaturally strait, but natural colored, fire red hair around her index finger, and popped her gum, her green eyes uninterested in what she saw.

"Why don't you three just leave?" she asked irritably, as if they were preaching about God.

"Maybe, I don't know, because this is my locker?" Annabeth crossed her arms, her grey eyes swirling with anger, daring her to speak.

She took the dare, "But nobody wants you here,"

Piper had to speak, before Annabeth could stab Rachel with a knife, "But you strike out every Friday, so i guess you are the one nobody wants around?"

Rachel's face twisted in anger, "You know what, chase? You can just-oh hi sweet heart!" She smiled and flipped her hair, leaning against the lockers.

"Excuse me, Rachel. This is my locker, can i just get to it?" a voice as soft as a calm sea washed over the crowd, crashing down with a tone completely oblivious to the slut flirting in front of him.

"Of course, sweetheart," Rachel fluttered her eye lashes, and winked, popping a bubble of gum.

"Rachel," the boy put a hand to the back of his neck, his raven black hair sweeping into his green eyes, "Please stop calling me that..." he said slowly, not wanting to hurt her feelings. Rachel huffed, threw her arms in frustration, and stomped down the hallway, her hips shaking.

"Way to go, Perseus," Thalia shoved her cousin, and then walked away, Annabeth and Piper at her side.

"Don't call me that!" the schools star swimmer called out, his voice dipped in frustration from saying the same thing over and over.

The girls walked down the hallway, Annabeth rolling her eyes at the captain of the swim team. Percy Jackson might be nicer than the football players, but he was still too perfect, and that irritated Annabeth. The bell rang, and Annabeth waved good bye to her friends, and headed to math. She was walking slower than usual, thinking about why Mr. Chiron had requested to see her after school.

Annabeth smiled as she thought of her favorite teacher. Annabeth had Chiron 2 years ago, as a freshman. No other teacher has come close to being as great as him. Chiron taught her history class, and during the unit on ancient Greece and Rome, he would bring in a sword and armor. He had a wheelchair, and always wore tweeted jackets and kind brown eyes. He had a short beard, and listened to Annabeth when she complained about her step mother, or when she celebrated over spending the day with her biological mother, who was a famous architect.

Annabeth would confide in Chiron, and Chiron would ask Annabeth for help with his students. Annabeth was horrified when she didn't get him for APUSH (AP US History), but she still went to him when she was studying for any test; which she always aced.

She pushed the door open, and stepped in as the bell rang. She let out a breath of relief, and took her seat; front and center of the classroom. Silena Beauregard walked to the front of the classroom, pom pom's in hand, cropped orange and white top, and pleated, mini skirt in matching colors. Her flawless, silky black hair was up in a ponytail, and her blue eyes shone with spirit.

"Hello fellow Half Blood High students! As you all know, I am Silena, captain of the cheer squad. And just so you all know today homecoming weekend, and tonight at 7 is the football game! We are going to be playing against Jupiter Acadamy, who we should totally crush! Also, Saturday night is homecoming dance, so come and party! Okay, that's all!" she cheered, and skipped back to her seat.

"Now that you are done, Ms. Beauregard, I would like to begin class," Ms. Dodds stalked to the front of the class, and began her class. Annabeth viciously took notes, while all the other seniors (She was in a class full of seniors, even though she was a junior) gossiped about who they thought would be homecoming king and queen.


	2. Chapter 2

Annabeth listened to the last bell ring, like sweet music to her ears. Although she loved school, and she aced every single AP class she took, she wasn't inhumane. She still loved the weekends, and not having to do work; the teachers at HBHS gave more homework than most during the week, but no work was given on Fridays.

Annabeth went to her locker, to unpack her backpack. Weight after weight went into her cold, white locker and she shut the door, gasping and taking a step back as a face popped up from where her door had been.

"BOO!" screamed the flawless face, sticking her tongue out at Annabeth. Piper laughed, clutching her stomach, tears rolling from her eyes.

"Gods, Pipes! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Annabeth placed a hand on her heart, trying to calm it down. She hated surprises, and Piper knew that.

"Sorry, Annabeth! But I just couldn't resist! You had that look on your face when you are thinking more than the normal person would," Piper said, wiping away her tears.

"I do not make a face," Annabeth rolled her grey eyes, putting a stray strand of hair behind her ears. She rubbed her leather necklace which had multiple beads on it; the very necklace her mother gave her last time Annabeth saw her...2 years ago...

Piper imitated Annabeth, and Annabeth pushed her arm, "Oh, Please!"

"Anyway, guess who my lab partner got changed too," Piper complained, falling in step with Annabeth.

"Let's see...Connor and Travis?" Annabeth guessed. Connor and Travis Stoll were the pranking kings at HBHS, and Piper had always hated their antics. Annabeth could imagine Piper trying to use her most convincing voice to control the boys.

"Nope," Piper popped the 'p'. Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"Well please tell me! You know I hate not knowing things!"

"Leo Valdez. I know that me and Leo are kinda friends, but honestly? He set 5 fires during the lab period! 5!" She complained, shaking Annabeth's arm for affect.

"On purpose?!" Annabeth exclaimed, her eyes widening.

Piper shrugged, "Well, he said it was an accident, but how could he make a fire when our lab was observing the relationship between water and oils!?"

Annabeth thought hard about that, "I honestly don't know,"

Piper stopped walking, her eyes wide open, turning from blue to green, "Did you just say 'you don't know'?" she asked, fake stunned.

"Oh, shut up!" Annabeth said, rolling her eyes as a group of Freshman walked past her, bumping into her shoulder. Piper laughed, and walked back next to Annabeth, the halls practically clear. She brushed her hair over her shoulder, braiding framing her face.

"So do you want to go to the pep-rally tonight?" Piper asked, walking with Annabeth.

Annabeth shrugged, "I'll go if you and Thals want to. Where is she, by the way?"

"She left with the hunters. She is going away for the weekend," Piper replied. The Hunters were a group of girls who swore off boys. They weren't lesbians, at least most of them weren't. The girls just think boys are immature and idiotic. They asked Annabeth to join, but she had a crush on a boy at that point, and couldn't imagine swearing them off. Thalia had no issue with swearing them off, having a bad experience with her ex boyfriend. Since the old leader, Zoë Nightshade, graduated last year, Thalia took over as leader.

"So me and you this weekend?" Annabeth asked, and Piper nodded, "So you wanna go to the game, or no?"

"I think we should go this time. So we can say we've been to at least one," Piper answered.

"So I'll text you when I'm out of my meeting with Mr. Chiron and whomever I'm tutoring," Annabeth stopped in front of Mr. Chiron's office, and Piper waved goodbye.

Turning the nob, she opened the door to see Chiron behind his desk, his small horse statuettes sitting around his keyboard. He looked up, and smiled; he smelled like coffee.

"Hi Chiron!" Annabeth said, sitting in the comfy chair on the opposing side of his desk. He smiled, and wrote a note on one of his students' papers; 'Good try, but Hades is not an olympian. Keep studying, you will get there!' Chiron always wrote encouraging notes, along with his criticism. Annabeth deduced he was teaching the freshman about the Greek Gods, her favorite topic. Athena was her favorite goddess, since she reminded Annabeth of herself and her biological mother.

"Hello Annabeth! Thank you for agreeing to tutor one of my students. He is struggling, and is worried about his grades dropping conflicting with sports," Chiron summed up, and Annabeth nodded. Freshmen always forgot to manage their time. She was sure all she needed to do was go over the units, tell them good studying techniques, and they would be done. Easy as pie!

"So who is the freshman i'm tutoring?" Annabeth asked, as curious as a cat.

"Oh, none of my freshman need tutoring," Chiron said, putting some papers into his drawer. Annabeth got a little worried. That meant she was tutoring a fellow Junior; what if she had to tutor Rachel, or one of her slutty minions!? They were all probably failing every class, of course they would need tutoring. However, Annabeth specifically remembered Chiron saying 'he', so at least there was that.

Chiron cleared his throat, interrupting Annabeth's nervous train of thought, "He should be here soon, he just had to tell his coach that he was getting a tutor to raise his grades,"

"Am I helping him in just APUSH? Or also other subjects?" Annabeth asked. She could tutor him in anything, but she just wanted to know what she was up against.

"Mainly APUSH, but I told him you could help him in other subjects if he needed it. That isn't a problem, is it?" Chiron asked, smiling. Chiron knew that it wasn't a problem, but he still made sure.

"No, that should be fine," Annabeth nodded, her curls bouncing. There was a knock at the door.

"Hi, Mr. Chiron," a shaky voice spoke up, and crashed over Annabeth, who sat facing Chiron, inwardly despairing. She knew that voice, she heard him every day. She turned to see Percy Jackson, with his hoodie on his messy black hair. His green eyes swirled with a nervous glint mixed with a tint of embarrassment. 'So Mr. Perfect was failing his classes?' Annabeth thought, 'Interesting,'

"Perseus, my boy! Please, take a seat next to Ms. Chase," Chiron welcomed Percy in his usual cheery voice, his smile ear to ear.

Percy flinched when he heard his full name, and he fought back the urge to correct him. He took a seat, dropping his backpack next to him. He out his hands in his pocket, and pulled out a plastic pen, which he continued to twirl around his fingers.

"Mr. Jackson, are you acquainted with Ms. Chase?" Chiron asked, looking from the grey eyes to the green. Percy turned to Annabeth, studying her. A small spark of recognition clicked somewhere in his brain.

"I think our lockers are next to each other?" he said, raising his voice near the end making it sound more like a question. Annabeth nodded, "yeah they are across the hallway. I saw you this morning,"

Percy frowned remembering the event that had unfolded, and Chiron nodded approvingly, "Perfect! Now I had checked both of your schedules, and you both have free period 4. So along with whatever times you set up individually, you can meet and work together during period 4 as well. Feel free to use my office, just send me an IM to let me know,"

IM's where the school's way of email. Each teacher would have his or her last name with an ' ' and then IM (for example: chiron ) , standing for Iris Message, which was some new company trying to make a name for themselves. Annabeth nodded, as did Percy.

"I need to go to a meeting for all the social studies teachers, so I will see you both tomorrow," Chiron smiled and left the two sitting there; neither looking at the other. After what felt like an eternity of silence, Annabeth broke the ice, "So what are you having trouble with?"

Percy shrugged, "Basically everything," he said quietly, his cheeks gaining a slight pink color.

"Let's take a look at the last test you took, and we can make the corrections," Annabeth suggested. Chiron didn't make test correction a grade, but he recommended it. It helped with the next unit and also with the final.

Percy nodded glumly, and after slipping his pen back in his pocket, he pulled out a paper out of his backpack with red pen marks all over it. He sighed as

Annabeth read the grade he had gotten; 47. Annabeth herself had never gotten below a 90, so she felt incredibly bad for this F test.

"Okay, so let's start with number one. Read it out loud, then we can go through the answers and eliminate ones that don't make sense," Percy's eyes widened in fear, but he quickly regained his composure. Clearing his throat, his eyebrows scrunched together, and he started to read:

"Um...Okay..." he scrunched his eyes, and then opened them again. He tilted his head at different angles, "Wick re-score or co...com...common? no... ugh..."

"Percy, that says 'Which resources or commodities contributed most to the economic success of Jamestown colony?'... Can you not see? Do you need glasses?"

"No, I don't need glasses! I can see just fine," he said shakily, smiling it off.

"Percy, I honestly think you need your eyes checked," Annabeth pushed, not wanting him to hurt his eyes. They were such a beautiful green... wait what?

"Annabeth, I'm sure that I do not need glasses," he said slowly, and Annabeth went through different possibilities. Then she had an idea. She wrote the letter 'W' on his test.

"What letter is that?"

Percy looked nervous, and he sighed, looking at the paper the same way, he said,

"M... no E... no W! No... wait... M?" he asked, not meeting her gaze.

"Are you asking me?"

"No! Its M! or E. or...W?" he asked again, hiding his face in his hands.

"Percy...are your dyslexic?"

He met her eyes, his face pleading, "Annabeth, you can't tell anyone!"

"Why?"

"It's embarrassing! Captain of the swim team and I can't even read the alphabet!"

"Percy, it's nothing to be ashamed of!"

"Annabeth, please! Promise me you won't tell anyone!" his green eyes pleading like a baby seal.

"Okay, Percy, your secret is safe with me," Annabeth gave in to the eyes, wondering what other secrets Percy held…


	3. Chapter 3

"Can I just ask _why_ you are so secretive?" Annabeth asked, as Percy put his test back in his backpack. He swiped a stray lock of hair, and looked into Annabeth's eyes.

Percy shrugged, "It's not cool. It's something I'm not proud of, and you have met the other jocks at this school! They would make complete fun of me!"

"Then why do you hang out with them?"

"It's just how it happens. Why do you hang out with…Thalia? You hang out with Thalia, right?"

"I hang out with Thalia because I'm invisible to everyone else," Annabeth cocked her head to the side, her pony swishing.

Percy, not knowing how to respond, smiled nervously, "Well I need to go, or else my step dad will have a cow. And that's not pretty," Percy looked down and shuffled his feet nervously. "Are you going to the football game? Maybe I'll see you there?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. See you then," Annabeth waved as Percy walked hastily out the door. Annabeth watched him running, his muscles working like a well-oiled machine.

She picked up her own backpack, and walked out the classroom, wiping her eyes with her hand. She walked outside, and saw her step-mother in her minivan, texting somebody.

"Annabeth! Get in the car! I'm late to pick up your brothers! Let's go!" she yelled, her voice dipped in irritation. She had no love for Annabeth, and that was apparent when she rolled her eyes as Annabeth slid into the passenger seat.

The rode in silence, and Annabeth remembered when she was little. Her mother had divorced his father, and had gone to work as an architect and a professor at a prestigious college. Whenever something bad would happen, her stepmom would blame Annabeth for all the monstrosities in her life. As if Annabeth had any control. Then her step siblings, Bobby and Matthew, came along and became the apple of her parents eyes. They barely noticed Annabeth, and at the age of 7 she tried to run away, but didn't get anywhere. Since then, Annabeth stepmom had treated her like the flu, and nobody likes the flu.

"Can you drop me off at the football stadium later? I'm going to the game against Jupiter Academy later tonight," Annabeth asked, her stepmother sighed.

"Annabeth, I can't. I have to watch your brothers-"

"Step brothers"

"-tonight. Your father is working late tonight,"

Annabeth's father was always working late, and when he was home he was locked in his study working. Annabeth barely saw him, and when she did he didn't talk much.

Her stepmom continued, tapping her hand on the wheel, "You can walk," she suggested, but it came out sounding like a demand.

Annabeth rested her head dejectedly in her hand. They pulled into the elementary school, and the two devils ran to the car. The pulled in the car and immediately started to yell.

"Mom I'm hungry!"

"Mommy Bobby pushed me!"

"Mom what's for dinner?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and groaned, "Oh my god!" she muttered.

"Annabeth don't be a monster! Boys, we are going to order pizza for dinner. Bobby, hands to yourself, Matthew, stop sticking your tongue out at him," Annabeth's stepmom glanced irritably at Annabeth, and looking at her boys threw the rearview mirror.

Annabeth pulled out her phone, her owl case gleaming in the sunlight. She unlocked her phone and texted Piper.

Annabeth: stepmonster is killing me again

Piper: haha  so want to meet at the front gate?

Annabeth: sure

Piper: how was tutoring? Who do you have?

Annabeth: You aren't going to believe me

Piper: Lemme know! Lemme know!

"Annabeth, get off your phone! We are home now, and you would know if you weren't goofing off!"

Annabeth: tell you at the field. GTG bye 

Piper: meanie

Annabeth got out of the car, and watched her siblings pushing each other around, acting like monkeys.

She rolled her eyes, and got ready to walk 30 minutes to home.

She threw on her orange sweater, in honor of HBHS, where the school colors were orange and white. After double checking that she wasn't wearing any black or purple (JA's colors), she smiled at her reflection and walked out in the crisp air.

She was walking by herself down the street, and heard somebody call her name. Turning around, she saw a figure jogging to her.

"Hey Wise Girl, what's up?" he fell into step with Annabeth, and smiled a goofy smile. Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"'Wise Girl'?" she asked, as he shrugged. She laughed and shivered a little.

"Yes, 'wise girl', because you are smart. Aren't you in like, all smart classes?"

Annabeth laughed, "All AP, yes. And thanks for the compliment," she said, and sneezed. She didn't believe it would be so cold, and she was regretting not wearing a jacket.

Percy frowned, "Are you cold?"

Annabeth shrugged, "Not too cold…" she shivered a little, and rubbed her hands down her arms. Percy shook his head, and took off his orange and white windbreaker that read "HALF BLOOD SWIMMING". He held it out to Annabeth who shook her head, "I can't take your jacket,"

"It's okay! I don't get cold easy, and I have a hoodie on," he reasoned. Annabeth accepted his jacket with a smile, and put it on. It smelt like Percy's cologne, 'Ocean Breeze'. She took a deep breath, soaking in the luxurious smell of the ocean. Percy's jacket went down to her mid-calf, and the arms were too long, so Annabeth's hands were hidden. The jacket warmed her right up.

"Thanks, Perce," she said, "So why are you walking? Do you live near here?"

Percy nodded, his smile faltering a little bit, "My stepdad was sleeping and my mom is working. And I live about 3 blocks from where I met up with you. What about you?"

Annabeth looked at the gravel, "My stepmom is watching my younger siblings, and my dad is working,"

"Are you walking back home too?"

"Yeah,"

"Let me walk you home. I don't want you going home in the dark," Percy said, looking down at Annabeth. Percy was a good 4 inches taller.

"You don't have to do that, Perce"

"I want to! Let me do this?" he pleaded. God, those eyes had to quit being so cute!

"Fine, seaweed brain," she answered, playfully pushing his arm.

"Seaweed brain?" he asked, in the same manner Annabeth had asked before.

"Well you have that goofy grin, and your eyes. Green like seaweed. Duh,"

"'Duh'," Percy imitated Annabeth.

"Stop!" she joked, rolling her swirling grey eyes.

"Here, give me your phone. I'll put my number in it so I can meet up with you after the game," Percy asked, holding out his hand. Annabeth put her phone in her case, and she put her hand out too. Percy slid his phone out of his pocket, and handed it over. His case was a picture of a crashing wave, and Annabeth shook her head in humor; of course the star swimmer's case would be the sea.

After exchanging numbers, the two reached the gates of the stadium.

"Perce! Over here, bro!" called a group of guys. He turned to Annabeth, told her he would meet up with her later, and jogged off, receiving high fives from his friends.

"Annabeth, were you walking with Percy Jackson?" Piper asked, walking over from where she was observing.

"Yeah, I was," Annabeth said, thinking about the new boy. She had feeling for him, but wasn't sure if it was a crush or not…


	4. Chapter 4

"Annabeth, whose jacket are you wearing?" Piper pulled at the sleeves of the waterproof orange fabric. She herself was wearing her ski jacket, like always, but she wore an orange feather in her braids, along with a white tee-shirt under her jacket.

"I like your feathers," Annabeth said, avoiding the subject.

Piper put a hand on her hip, "Thanks, my dad sent them," her dad was the infamous Tristan McLean, the actor in the award winning movies. "But seriously, whose jacket?"

"…Percy's. He saw me shivering and gave it to me,"

Piper fanned her face; a smile spread ear to ear, "He likes you!"

"Piper, stop! We have talked probably only 3 times in our lives!"

"He gave you his jacket!" Piper grinned, and walked through the gates, her hair blowing in the wind.

Annabeth followed, fighting back, "So? He saw me shivering; he was being a gentleman,"

"He was being _your_ knight in shining armor, that's what he was!" Piper sat down in one of the last available seats, and Annabeth sat down next to her, marveling at how packed the stands were. In the sea of orange and white, a cheer arose, as the announcer called that the game started.

Across the field, there was a tiny crowd of purple and black, and they were viciously outnumbered. In our home territory, the cheerleader's, led by Silena, began to cheer:

"WE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO! JUPITER ACADAMY, HOW ABOUT YOU?"

A faint cheer came from the JA side, but the cheerleaders continued,

"HALF BLOOD HIGH, LET'S HEAR YOU CHEER! CAN YOU OUT CHEER YOUR OTHER PEERS!?"

A roar erupted like a volcano, and the cheerleaders started doing jumps, and backhand springs. A group of 4 girls threw Silena into the air, and she did a flip, landing in her base's arms.

Annabeth clapped and cheered along with everyone else, and Piper was doing the same. Annabeth looked over, and saw Percy near the opposite side of the stands, in his hoodie-his black hair a mop on the top of his head. He smiled and jumped with his other friends, cheering and clapping. Alongside him were a few faces Annabeth recognized, though she was sure they didn't know who she was. Faces such as; Connor and Travis Stoll (Prankster Kings), Will Solace (Theater protégé and head of the archery club) and Katie Gardner (Travis' girlfriend, best gardener in the school). Some faces Annabeth didn't recognize, but Percy looked happy, and Connor and Travis flanked him, messing up his hair and pushing him around. They had orange face paint on, and Katie seemed to be scolding her boyfriend. Percy swung at them, and laughed, while his green eyes sparkled. Annabeth sighed; she absolutely loved Piper and Thalia, with all her heart, but she wished that she had more friends, friends like Percy's. Ones that would goof off, make jokes, and be there when you needed them. Thalia was serious, and sometimes her jokes were a little rude. Piper was funny sometimes, but she was more dramatic and nervous.

"Hello, ladies!" a body stood in the stairs of the stadium, smiling a devilish grin down at the two girls. He was short and Latino, with ears that were a bit pointed. He wore a tool belt around his waist, like he always did, and his brown hair was curling into his brown eyes.

"Leo," Piper moaned, and rolled her eyes, "What do you want?"

"May I sit next to you, Pipes? There aren't any seats, and Nyssa is in the workshop and, you know, Beckendorf is on the team so I can't hang out with him…"

Nyssa was a friend of Leo's who also was always in the school's auto shop. She was a senior, like Beckendorf, and was really lean and had strong, callused, hands. Beckendorf was Silena's boyfriend, and his real name was Charles Beckendorf. Nobody called him Charles, or Charlie, except Silena. He was super tall, and had muscles the size of Annabeth's face. He was African American, and was nice to everyone. He was one of the captains of the football team, and was one of the most popular seniors.

"Why do you want to sit with us?" Piper asked, as Leo sat down, taking her lack of saying no as a yes.

"Because I think of us as friends," he said with a smile.

"Leo we are lab partners. Since today!"

"But we used to be best friends! Back in middle school!" Leo countered.

"But then you spent every waking moment in the auto shop and in your mom's mechanic shop," Piper said, and Leo's smile faltered a little before he shrugged and leaned back in his seat, while Piper rolled her ever-changing eyes.

Leo's mom had died in a fire when Leo was young, and Leo hated fires ever since. During Freshman year, though, he had to use a blow torch a lot during his workshop class, and he learned to accept it. Now he had no issue with fire, and he was proud of his ability to use the blow torch or a simple match. However he was still very cautious, and _never_ let the fires get out of control.

When Leo's mom died, she left him her Mechanic shop, and when he got to freshman year and learned how to use all the tools, he started working back in the store, which his dad, Hephaestus, took over.

He and Piper used to hang out all the time, back in 7th and 8th grade, but they drifted, and now Piper couldn't stand his antics…so she said. She seemed to smile a little when he sat down, happy to have her friend back.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth," Annabeth introduced herself. She had never actually met Leo, she just knew about him from Piper.

"Hello, Ms. Annabeth. I am bad boy supreme, Leo Valdez. I assume you will want to date me, but I must just put this out; I'm very busy," he wiggled his eyebrows and flexed his muscles…what little muscle he had.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows, and Leo winked a very obvious, very conspicuous wink, which made Piper roll her eyes, and Annabeth let out a small laugh, turning back to the game.

Leo laughed, and turned to Piper, "So Beauty Queen, how have you been?"

Leo calling Piper 'Beauty Queen' was a three-fold, really: One, Piper's mother was a famous make up artist and model, Aphrodite. Two, Piper hated all things materialistic, including make-up and dresses, so the nickname was a joke. Three, Piper was drop dead gorgeous.

Piper laughed, and replied, "Well, Repair Boy, I've been fantastic since you last asked me that during lab,"

Annabeth laughed, and they both turned to her, sticking out their tongues.

Annabeth stuck her tongue out back, as everyone around them jumped up out of their seats, screaming like howler monkeys.

"TOUCHHHHHHHHHDOWNNNNNNN! Castellon to Beckendorf, Half Blood High makes a touch down!" screamed the announcer, as the cheerleaders shook their pompoms, and did a few stunts.

"WAY TO GO, HALF BLOOD! WAY TO GO!" they cheered, kicking their legs up in the air.

Beckendorf made the motion of blowing a kiss to Silena, who pretended to catch it. She threw one back, shaking her hips.

'That's cute', thought Annabeth, with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

After the game ended, Annabeth was relieved.

She had never been to a high school football game, and she felt as if she had lost her hearing. After every touch down, the sea of Orange crashed, roaring with the strength of a lion. The game was close, but HBHS won by 3 points, in the last 10 seconds of the game. The kids almost stormed the field, it was crazy.

With their heads hung, the purple shirts walked back to their cars, leaving HBHS.

Annabeth said goodbye to Leo and Piper, and started walking back. Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket to see a picture of Percy sticking his tongue out, his eyes wide open and eyebrows raised. Underneath it said 'Seaweed Brain' is calling. Annabeth laughed and picked up.

"Cute picture, Perce,"

"Oh you saw that? I decided to give my contact a photo,"

"You look smokin', Seaweed Brain" Annabeth laughed.

"Why thank you, Wise Girl. Hey where are you? Wanna meet by the front gates?"

Annabeth stopped walking, and saw she was at the gates. She leaned against it, and replied "sure, I'll meet you there," Percy hung up, and Annabeth slipped her phone back in her pocket. She looked through the crowd of orange and white, mixed with some purple and black, and saw

Percy walking with a tall, bulky Asian kid whose arm was wrapped around a short, younger looking dark skinned girl. They were both wearing purple.

He waved goodbye to them, upon seeing Annabeth, and wove his way through the crowd.

"Who was that?" Annabeth asked, and the two started walking home.

Percy shrugged, "Frank and Hazel. I bumped into them and apologized, and we started talking,"

"You made friends that fast?"

"Surprised, Wise Girl? I'm quite the social butterfly. Anyway, did you enjoy the game?"

"I did, it was fun. Loud, but fun,"

"Yeah the yelling can get pretty crazy. We are all about spirit here at Half Blood High," Percy imitated their principle, Mr. Dionysus, or Mr. D, from the speech on school spirit he gave earlier that week. His voice was melancholy, and always full of irritation.

"So, Annabeth, tell me something you haven't told anyone else," Percy asked, pulling his hood up.

"Why?" Annabeth dragged out the syllables, elongating the word. Percy smiled and bumped his hip into hers.

"If you want our friendship to grow, we need to share our deepest darkest secrets!" he said. Annabeth looked down at the shadows the streetlights caused, then up at the full, round moon.

"Do we have to?"

"No, but I told you my biggest secret, so tell me one of yours!" Percy poked

Annabeth's arm repeatedly, and she swatted at it, smiling.

"If you stop, I'll tell you!" she said, giving up the fight. Percy smiled and put his hands up in surrender.

Annabeth took a deep breath, "I'm godly terrified of...spiders,"

"Spiders?" Percy asked.

"Yes! Don't laugh! If there is one within a mile of me, i feel like they are drawn to me! Honestly, I can't think when I see spiders, I'm so scared. You don't know!" Annabeth said, and Percy nodded.

"No spiders. Got it," he said.

"No your turn," Annabeth said, turning towards him.

Percy's eyebrows furred together, and Annabeth smiled. He looked cute when he was confused. "My turn?" he asked.

"Yes, 'if you want our friendship to grow-'" Annabeth started, imitating Percy's voice.

"Fine! and I don't sound like that!" he said, and Annabeth shrugged.

Percy reached into his pocket, and pulled out a ballpoint pen, and gripped it in his hands, protectively. "This is my lucky pen. Can't go anywhere without it,"

Now it was Annabeth's turn to be confused, "Why is that lucky?"

Percy put his pen back in his pocket, "My dad gave it to me,"

"Your stepdad?"

"No, my real dad. He is in the navy, and always posted out at sea. He bought it for me when I was little. The last time I saw him I was 7," he said, smiling at the memories of his dad.

"10 years ago? I haven't seen my mom in 4 years, but I only saw her for an hour,

The last time I really got to spend time with her...I can't even remember,"

"Sorry," he said.

"You too," she replied.

They walked in an awkward silence for a little, and Percy looked back at Annabeth, "your turn,"

"Well my lucky item in my Yankees baseball hat. It's at home right now, but I usually take it everywhere," Annabeth said. The hat was a gift from her mother, and it fit like a glove.

"Why didn't you wear it to the game?" asked Percy, imagining Annabeth in her hat, curls flying out from underneath.

"It's not orange, so I felt like I shouldn't wear it," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, probably not the smartest idea," Percy joked. Annabeth let out a laugh, and Percy smiled.

Annabeth stopped outside her house, and Percy stopped with her. He looked down at her in the light of the street lamps, his green eyes twinkling like the stars. He looked up, and pointed to a star. Annabeth followed his finger.

"See that group of stars right there?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Annabeth said, the stars twinkling like diamonds.

"It's called Zoe's Constellation," he said, and looked back down at Annabeth. She raised an eyebrow.

"Perce, I know constellations…that's not a real one,"

He laughed, "Yeah, I know. I wanted to impress you with my vast knowledge of the universe," he laughed, as Annabeth started to walk up her driveway.

She was walking backwards, so she could still talk, "Well that's not going to work, so if you're going to impress me, you have to think of another way," she flirted.

"I'll impress you some way!" he called, as she called back, "Good Luck!", and waved from her door. He waved back, and started walking down the gravel, which looked like a black river.

She shut the door, and leaned against it, her heart pounding. She definitely had a crush on Percy Jackson.

"I'm back!" she called, as she climbed the stairs two steps at a time.

"Okay," Annabeth heard her step-mother called back. She shut the door, and lay on her bead. She looked up at her ceiling, and sighed. She took of her jeans and put on a pair of sweatpants; a pair with owls all over the legs. She curled up in a ball under her covers, and opened her book. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket.

Piper: I have to tell you something, but I can't tell you over text, so we have to hang out tomorrow!

Annabeth: Did something happen with Leo?

Piper: No, something happened with a football player

Annabeth: Luke?

Piper: a player from JA

Annabeth: seriously!?

Piper: I'll tell you tomorrow!

Annabeth: If you don't I'll take out my knife

Piper: sheath your knife, Annabeth, it's all good

Annabeth: 

As Annabeth put her phone on the bedside table, and pulled her arms into the jacket.

The jacket.

Percy's jacket.

She was still wearing his jacket.

She texted him;

Annabeth: I still have your jacket…

Percy: I didn't even notice LOL

Annabeth: do you need it back? I could run it back to you tomorrow…

Percy: No it's fine, you can give it back to me next tutoring session. No rush.

Annabeth: sorry again

Percy: no worries 

Annabeth: see you Monday

Percy: Enjoy my jacket's warmth ;)


	6. Chapter 6

Annabeth was sitting in her swivel chair, and was doing her homework. She finished sharpening her pencil and went back to her problem. Use quadratic formula to solve the various equations. Annabeth chewed her lip and easily solved the equations and swiveled around in her chair. She got up out of her chair, and walked to her window; she opened it and fresh air came streaming in, the rays of sun dancing off her hair.

She smiled and was thankful for her homework being so easy. She was already finished it, and that meant she could spend her weekend outside.

She walked back to her desk, and packed up her papers. Her gold and white curtains blew in the breeze, and light danced off her diamond shaped mirror. She put her hair up into a pony tail, and walked back over to the window, and sat down in front of it. She pulled open her book, and began to read.

The birds tweeted, and the wind rustled the trees. Annabeth took a look outside, and to her amazement saw a boy running. He wore lose, basketball shorts and no shirt; his six pack flashing Annabeth. He had strong shoulders and his hair was bouncing. He was running at a steady pace; obviously been running for a while, but not yet tired. Percy was literally trying to kill Annabeth, wasn't he?

Annabeth slumped back in her alcove seat, and sighed. Why was she suddenly crushing on a boy who a few days ago she thought was all too perfect to be real?!

Pulling her legs up to her chest, she shut her eyes and rested her head against the wall. Her door burst open and Piper ran in, and sat next to Annabeth. She was wearing black sweatpants and an orange tank top, showing off a little of her midriff; which was as thin as her supermodel mom's… which didn't make sense since she ate an ice cream sundae every night, and wasn't involved in any sports.

Her hair was in a bun, with a few braids twisted into it. She wore a headband that wrapped around her forehead, and she bounced with nervous energy. Annabeth slowly opened her eyes, and smiled at her friend.

"How did you get in here?" she asked slowly, as Piper raised her eyebrows.

"I know the key is hidden under the rock," she said.

"How?" Annabeth pondered.

"I have my secrets, Ms. Chase," she winked

"Okay, enough of this! What happened yesterday having to do with someone from JA?" Annabeth asked, leaning forward o her friend.

"Don't judge me. But I was waiting for my dad's assistant to pick me up, since I didn't want the limo picking me up…Embarrassing much?" Piper rolled her eyes. Piper didn't want people to know that her dad and mom were famous, or that she was richer than everyone at school combined.

"Poor little rich girl," Annabeth pouted her lip, and Piper smacked her arm, making Annabeth laugh. Piper looked over and saw Percy's swim jacket on Annabeth's chair. She could practically hear her mom squealing with the delight of young love in her head.

She pointed to it, "What's that all about?"

Annabeth shook her head, "Don't change the subject!"

"Fine, but we are coming back to that jacket! So, I was waiting, and one of the football players from JA was walking out. He accidently ran into me, because he was arguing with some skimpy, blonde looking kid. Anyway, he ran into me, and then started stuttering and mumbling. He was looking in my eyes, probably trying to figure out what color they were,"

"Naturally," Annabeth stated.

"Anywayyyy… We were talking, and little did we realize that his bus left without him. But he was shocked as hell, considering he is the captain and what not. So when Jane got here to pick me up, I offered him a ride home. He accepted, and when we finally got to his home, I walked him to his door. And he kinda kissed my cheek,"

"Cheek? That's it? Pipes, that isn't so bad,"

"Yeah…I'm not done. After the cheek, I kissed him back…on the lips. A few times. We are going out tomorrow to a pizza store…"

"And this is someone from JA? I thought they were total pricks there!" Annabeth said.

Piper shook her head, "Not Jason,"

Annabeth thought about that name, "Jason Grace?"

Piper nodded, biting down a smile, "Yeah,"

"Piper McLean, you dog! Kissing someone the night you meet them? Slut!" Annabeth joked, getting up from her seat. Piper pushed her onto her bed, and she fell on it laughing.

"Whatever! Now tell me about Percy Jackson's jacket? Are you dating? Did you kiss him!? Give me the deats!" Piper grilled, picking up Percy's jacket and throwing it at Annabeth.

Annabeth caught it, and laid it over her lap. She shook her head at Piper, "No, we are not dating, and no, I didn't kiss him. Like I said yesterday, he gave me his jacket and I forgot to give it back. That's all!"

Piper rolled her eyes, "If my mother had taught me anything about love, and let me tell you- she has taught me a lot-is that if a boy lets a girl have his jacket, it's a move,"

"He didn't _give_ me his jacket. I forgot to give it back. I'm giving it back on Monday, I'm not keeping it," Annabeth exclaimed, and Piper sat down next to Annabeth.

"Annabeth," she said, evenly, "Do you love Percy?"

"No, I do not _love_ Percy," Annabeth matched Piper's tone.

"Okay, maybe not love. But a crush? DO you have a crush?"

_Yes_, Annabeth thought.

"No," Annabeth replied; she herself wasn't sure exactly what she felt to Percy, so she didn't want to tell her friends until she was sure of her feelings.

Piper eyes her, "Okay…Fine. But you will tell me if you do get a crush on him, won't you?"

"As long as you keep telling me how it goes with you and Jason!"

"Deal," Piper said, flopping her back down on Annabeth's bed. Annabeth looked outside, at the beautiful sun high in the cloudless, blue sky.

Percy ran by, still evenly paced and breathing steadily.

_Definitely. I definitely have a crush on Percy…_

Annabeth flopped down on her bed, next to Piper.

"So what's up with Leo?" Annabeth asked.

"Leo Valdez; still irritating. But I was glad that he started talking to me again. I missed him. He was, like, my best friend,"

"Do I have to worry about Leo taking my spot? Do I need Thalia to intervene?" Annabeth said, propping herself up on her elbows.

Piper laughed, "No, Annabeth, no need to worry. You are my best friend, and nobody can change that,"

"Same to you, Pipes," Annabeth smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

Percy finished his jog, panting. He pulled his leg up to his butt by his ankle, stretching his quad. He repeated with his other leg, and rolled his head, cracking his neck. He walked up to his door, and pushed it open, quietly closing it behind him. No way did he want to wake up his stepfather, Gabe.

Gabe had married his mother a few years back, and he was a total ass. He treated Percy's mom like a slave, and Percy had the idea that maybe he hit her a few times, considering she cowered every time he raised his hand.

Gabe constantly took Percy's money to play poker with his other fat, loser friends. Percy rarely had 3 dollars on him, and if he did Gabe would sniff it out like a bloodhound. If Percy refused to give up his money, then Gabe would push him around. Sometimes let out a few punches. Percy avoided it as much as possible, but he never let his mom know. He just couldn't let that happen.

Percy silently tiptoed to his room, and shut his door so quietly it made less than no sound. Percy had gotten good at making no noise over the years. He sat down on his bed, and united his sneakers, throwing them in the corner of his room. He lay down on his bed, and heard yelling from the room over.

Gabe was up.

He was groaning, and he put a hand to his throbbing head:

_Percy walked through the door, and dropped his backpack on the ground. He tried to walk hastily to his room, but Gabe came from the kitchen, beer in his hand._

_He took a swing, "Your late, ass," he growled, sneering at his stepson._

"_I was meeting with my tutor," Percy said, glaring back at his fat, drunk stepfather._

"_Because you're an idiot?" another swing of beer, and a burb escaped his mouth._

"_Sure," Percy gave up trying to fight Gabe, since he was as stubborn as a mule. Most of the time his arguments didn't even make sense, but then Gabe would push Percy around and would end up triumphantly eating bean dip that Sally made, unwillingly._

"_So, ass-hole, hand over the money you have," Gabe stepped towards Percy, hand outstretched. He smelled like rotting eggs; Percy almost gagged._

"_I don't have any," Percy tried to walk to his bedroom, but Gabe grabbed his shoulder-hard. Percy gritted his teeth, not letting Gabe hear wails of pain._

"_Listen here, you little runt,-" Percy was 6 foot, he was in no way a runt, "-I know you take 10 dollars for lunch to that stupid high school of yours. I know that it only costs at most 5 dollars to get whatever you need to, and I even think that's way too much. Anyway that leaves 5 dollars for me. So hand it over, ass," He squeezed Percy's shoulder a little harder, and he saw spots. He blinked them away._

"_Fine, take it," Percy pulled the money from his pocket, and Gabe grabbed it from his hand using the hand with the beer bottle in it-his hand still clamped down hard._

"_Gabe. Let go of me," Percy said, his teeth gritted together. He was going to the game later; he couldn't have any bruises on his face, so he was careful with what he said. He was usually able to get out of face hitting, but every now and then…_

"_You need to stop lying to me, runt," Gabe snarled, and threw Percy against the wall. Percy flew across the room, and hit the wall with a thud, his head smacking the wall. He put his hand against it, and winced. Gabe kneed him in the stomach, making Percy double over. Gabe pushed him down, and walked away, back to his bean dip and bear, pocketing the 5 dollars._

_Percy took a few deep breaths, clutching his stomach. When he felt like he was ready to walk again, he clambered to his room, and sat down on his bed. He laid down, and felt his head for a bump. A small one was already forming. _

_He looked at his clock, and saw that if he was going to get to the game moving at the pace as a newly injured swimmer, than he was going to have to leave soon. He grabbed a white hoodie and slipped it over his head. He also grabbed his Swimmers wind breaker._

_He walked out of the house, ignoring Gabe's shouts._

Percy's phone started to ring, pulling him out of his memory, and he picked it up.

"Hey, Stoll's," he said.

"Hey-"said Connor

"-Perce," finished Travis

"What's up, guys?" Perce asked, pulling out a tee shirt, slipping it over his head. He had jogged shirtless, since he had no bruises or anything, so he could show off his 6 pack.

Travis cleared his throat, "So we saw a girl wearing a Swimmer's jacket…And all the other swimmers wore their jackets, so we deduced-"

"Deduced? Big word, guys. Congrats," Percy joked.

"-Shut up, Perce," Connor said.

Travis continued, "-so we _deduced_ that it was your jacket. Who's the lucky lady who snapped you up?"

"Snapped me up? Do we live in the 50's?"

"Answer the question, water boy,"

"Two things: one; Water boy? And two; it's my friend, Annabeth Chase," Percy said, emphasizing friend.

"Who's Annabeth Chase?"

"Blonde. Tall. In all those AP classes. We've been in the same school with her since 1st grade… No bells?" Percy asked, describing Annabeth. He wanted to slip in perfect, and funny. Percy had ended up getting somewhat of a crush on Annabeth, even though it has only been a few days…

"Don't know her. So why are you in love with her?"

"I'm not in love with Annabeth," Percy rolled his eyes.

"So why did you give the lovely lady a jacket?"

"She was cold?" Percy said the statement in the form of a question.

Percy heard some mumbling from the other side of the phone, and then heard Katie pipe up, "Perce, sweetheart, you were totally making a move,"

"Katie, no I wasn't!" Percy said.

"Okay, Perce, okay," Katie said, Travis and Connor snickered in the background.

"Guys, I wasn't making a move!"

"Sure, Perce. We gotta go, so we'll catch up with you later. Try not to fall around any pools, okay?"

"Bye Stolls. Bye Katie," Percy said, and Percy's friends hung up.

Percy had told his friends that he slipped during swimming practice, and that's what caused the bruise that ran up his arm. Percy was great at excuses, and was constantly dishing them out; his friends thought he was the clumsiest person ever.

"HEY ASS-HOLE! CLEAN UP THIS MESS DOWN HERE! BEER SPILT!" Gabe called from down stairs.

Percy stood up, and rolled his eyes, _here we go,_ he thought to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

Annabeth walked into Mr. Chiron's office on Monday, during her free period. She saw a sloppy mess of black hair sitting in a chair, resting on his hand. Percy was sleeping in the chair, waiting for Annabeth.

Annabeth stalked up next to him, and bent down, so her lips were next to his ear.

"PERCY JACKSON!" she yelped, and Percy jumped high out of his chair, and fell on the ground. Annabeth fell into the chair, laughing so hard that a tear rolled down.

"Jeez, Wise Girl! You almost gave me a heart attack!" he said, rubbing his head. _Had he hit his head?_ Annabeth wondered. She took out her pencil and a paper, and Percy pulled out his APUSH homework.

"So how are we going to do this? Me being an idiot an all," Percy said, sitting down in the chair next to Annabeth's.

"You're not an idiot Seaweed Brain! Why do you keep saying that? Does someone tell you that?" Annabeth asked, her eyes swirling and the wheels in her head turning.

Percy paused, "No. So how are we going to do this?"

Annabeth mentally took note of the pause, but told Percy her idea, "You listen in class, right?"

"Sometimes,"

"Only sometimes…? Really, Perce? My mom would hate you," she kidded, shaking her head.

"Well…do you like swimming and the ocean and such?" Percy said, smirking.

"Yeah, I love going to the beach," Annabeth said, smirking back at Percy.

Percy frowned, and looked at his paper, "Yeah, my dad would have no issue with you,"

Annabeth stuck her tongue out at Percy, and he did the same. Annabeth laughed, "I was thinking that I could read the questions to you, you answer them verbally, and I'll scribe for you,"

Percy nodded, "That's why you are the Wise Girl," Annabeth sat up straighter, and Percy gave her his homework sheet.

"Okay, question one: Where was the most famous witchcraft hysteria in colonial America?"

Percy lit up, "Hey, I know this one!"

Annabeth smiled at him, "Congrats, Perce. Now what's the answer?"

"Salem, Massachusetts," Percy sat back in his chair, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

"That's right. What's wrong with your head?"

"Very forward, Miss Chase," Percy said nervously, sinking in his chair a little bit.

"So what happened?" Annabeth finished writing Salem down on Percy's homework.

"Fell during Swim practice," Percy said, shrugging.

"You fell? Like off the diving board?" Annabeth asked, curiously. Percy was a pretty good liar, but Annabeth was better at detecting lies than most people. She was amazing at reading people.

Percy shook his head, "No I'm not a diver. I do freestyle and backstroke. I slipped on the side, because I was running to my block and it was slippery. I guess that's why the sign says 'don't run when wet'. They aren't just there for looks," he joked.

"Most rules are there for a reason, Perce," Annabeth said.

"I suppose so," Percy said, and Annabeth went on through the rest of the questions. Percy answered 8/10 of them good, and Annabeth had to help him on the others. After they finished the APUSH questions, Percy said that was all the homework he had that day.

"You want to review anything?" Annabeth asked, as Percy put his pencil and papers away. He shoved his papers messily in his backpack, and his pencil was just thrown haphazerdily in a pocket.

"Okay, tomorrow I'm bringing you folders and you can get organized," Annabeth said, putting her own pencil away in her pencil case.

"Good luck. Last person who tried, Katie Gardner, gave up and deemed me impossible," he raised his eyebrows, and pulled off his sweatshirt. Little did he know that his shirt sleeve snagged on the sweatshirt, and lifted it up, revealing the edge of a bruise.

"Percy, what is that?" Annabeth asked, and Percy swore under his breath in a different language. Was that Greek?

"Did you just swear in Greek?" Annabeth asked, her eyebrows scrunched together quizzically.

Percy smiled to himself, "Yeah me and Grover Underwood looked up a bunch of swears during Greek today,"

"Moving past that… What is that on your arm? Is that a bruise?" Annabeth asked, pulling up his sleeve, showing a good portion of the bruise.

"Yeah, it's just a bruise, no big deal!" Percy said, shrugging. He stuffed his sweatshirt in his backpack, and swung it on his uninjured shoulder.

"Percy, how high up does that go?" Annabeth said, standing up to inspect it. She shut the door to Chiron's office, so they would have more privacy.

"To, like, my shoulder," Percy said. Obviously this was the first time somebody had caught his bruise, and he was having a hard time lying on the spot.

"Perce, this goes up to past your shoulder. It goes up to near your neck," Annabeth said, pulling his collar past his shoulder to show him.

"Perce, no way could falling leave a bruise like this," Annabeth looked him in the eyes.

"Don't tell anyone," Percy looked deep into her swirling grey eyes, his green eyes dubbed in concern.

"Don't tell anyone, what, Percy?" she interrogated, her arms delicately and sensitively touching his un-bruised shoulder.

"I think you know," he whispered, looking away. Annabeth gently put a hand on his jaw line, making him look at her. Her expression was soft.

"Percy, I think I know too. But I want to hear it from you," she said, slowly. He took a deep breath.

"I haven't even told my friends, isn't it odd that I would tell you my deepest secret? We have only been friends for like 4 days…" he said.

"Percy, I feel like we have a connection. I don't care if you think that's too sudden, but it's what I feel. So sue me. But I think that I can trust you, and you can trust me. Do you not agree?"

"I…I do agree with you, Annabeth," he said.

"Then tell me. I want to help,"

"You can't help. It's fine, I can deal with it," Percy said defiantly.

"Percy, please tell me,"

"It's my step dad, it's no big deal," Percy said, putting a hand on the doorknob.

Annabeth put a hand on the door, "Did he hit you?"

"Not technically…"

"What does that mean?"

"It was a push and a kick. So no hitting…"

"Percy…" Annabeth said, a tear tugging at her eye.

"No tears. Please. It's not so bad, I'm a tough boy," he said, smiling.

"Percy, how can you kid?"

"Because I'm used to it!"

Annabeth put a hand to her mouth, "He has done it before,"

Percy swore in Greek again, angry at himself for letting that slip, "Once or twice…"

"Or…" Annabeth said, wanting to know the truth.

"Or once or twice a week,"

Annabeth put her face in Percy's chest, "how long," she asked, and he shrugged.

"I'm not sure…a few years,"

"Percy…"

"It's okay, Annabeth,"

"No! It's not! We need to do something!"

"Annabeth calm down!"

"No! I can't! Percy I'm sorry, I can't!" Annabeth said, sitting down in the chair.

"I'm helping my mom get the courage to leave him, it's okay! I wish we just had a real life Medusa head or something,"

"Medusa head?"

"So he would turn to stone," Percy shrugged.

"Yeah, I got that. I was wondering what all the Greek mythology and Greek swearing was all about,"

"Just came from Greek class…"

"Percy, you have to let me help you,"

Percy put his hands on Annabeth's shoulders, "Annabeth, listen. I'll be fine. I'm figuring things out, I'll tell you if I get in over my head, okay? Promise me you won't tell anyone. Promise!" Percy said, as the bell rang to dismiss the class. He looked her in the eyes.

"I promise," she whispered.

"Thank you," he gave her a hug, and left the room, off to his next class.

Annabeth sighed; She wanted to help her crush…but how?


	9. AN

**AUTHORS NOTE:**

**Thank you all so much for the positive reviews. Glad to know you are all enjoying my story.**

**I have gotten a few requests to continue.**

**I will try to add more chapters, but right now I'm working on a new story.**

**It could take a week or 2, so please be patient.**

**Thank you guys so much, love the comments!**

**Let me know what you wanna see, and I'll consider adding it to my story!**

**Try my other stories!**

**Keep the comments coming!**


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